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helii any The t nt boolItev.lin.'jHineeionirl.H-5:30sueddnyloadS IlfwillFill-son-tixt,s of nnd•J 31.ipre-rcl n nt irrh, I l.e. F. icc«.;aso idp.y 1^ st. ionsfilp'iiwillniii-h.arl-toro. i nt rood rood7:»nslipdJlble Sun-irch, pIr’s 1. O. IressNn?.-ierv-theHistressniru-I hy Cen-ioi'ia theSnn-e»d-tnlksGos*ecinlilnjr.van-eve-jrch,enie.wiltS'.m-t 11dia-•e of clock urch,,erlesdeep.Schmitt—(Continued from Page .1)decided it would be the best place on the street to rob. They iold me they had never been inside the store before.Dime in Hand.With a dime in his hand the youngest, 15-year-old Ray Halverson, walked into the store. At the time, Jeremiah Dowd. 7832 Dm era id ave., was inside asking for change for a dollar hill. Halverson bought a chocolate eclair from Mi's. Schmitt and started to eat it.. Joseph Zvirblis, who was watching from outside then walked into the store with Peter Sinkus following him. They stood beside Halverson. Jeremiah Dowd, having obtained his change, started to leave the store. But Sinkus told me he whipped out a gun and told Dowd to put up his hands. At the same time, Zvirblis leveled a gun at Mrs. Schmitt. Zvirblis then walked over to Dowd and took the dollar from his hand. i“With the gun in his hand, Zvir- ; hi is herded Mrs. Schmitt and Jere- j miah Dowd behind a partition in ] the si ore, a small enclosure which separates the front of the store, in which the counters arc located, from the back room where the baking is done. Meanwhile. Peter Sinkus started to rifle the cash registei. Halverson, who was unarmed, remained by a light switch in the front part, of the store.Lights Out,Zvirblis told me he instructed Mrs. Schmitt and Jeremiah Dowd to lie on the floor. At that time Halverson switched off the lights. Zvirblis said he thought he heard a noise like the patter of feet in the back room and started to move toward the door leading to the back room. Mrs. Schmitt screamed and jumped to her feet. Zvirblis told me he then fired one shot in her direction. He stated he meant to frighten her. He said he heard her fall to the floor.“All three boys then ran out the front door of the bakery with a loot of $12. They had taken $11 from the cash register.They said they rau north on Hal-sted st. then one-half block east to an alley. They raced north down the alley and finally emerged at 72nd and Hals ted sts. The youngest, Halverson, was carrying three pies he had taken from the bakery. They boarded a northbound street car at 72nd and Halsted sts. and got off at 63rd pi. There they entered a cigar store under the elevated station and Sinkus bought a cigar. Then they walked about five blocks west on 63rd st. and threw the pies into an alley.Divided Loot.“After that they came back to 63rd and Halsted sts. and boarded a northbound street car. When they reached their starting point at Canal port and Union aves.. they got ! off the car and equally divided the ' $12.”The first the boys knew that thewoman in the bakery had died was when they read of it next morning in the newspapers.But, according to what they told police, they went right on holding lip people. It was as a result of this ihat they were captured 30 days later. It happened last Friday night ut half past ten. Fireman Peter W. Sperling was standing in the front door of engine house at 1975 Canal-port ave.. when he saw three youlhs strong-arming ati elderly man down the street. He ran forward, shouting. The youths abandoned their victim, as yet unidentified, and ran. Sperling pursued and caught one of them. The captive, who got. a black eye in the struggle, said his name was Sinkus—Peter Sinkus.To Station.The Maxwell street police look him to the station. They didn't know he might be involved in the Schmitt case. At first Sinkus said, according to police, that he had done some holdups and that Halverson and Zvirblis had been with him. But finally after several hours Sinkus said that “Zvirblis shot a woman in a holdup on Halsted st.” Police went out, got Zvirblis and Halverson and brought them in. The confessions of all three followed soon after.Members of the police squad attached to the Maxwell street station who arrested the three youths and obtained From them confessions of the Schmitt murder are George Miller, John Touhy, Edward Hen nig, Thomas Torpy and Joseph Lenert.About a week before the Schmitt murder, a bakery slyip at 1742 IV. 95th st., was held up by (he boys, according to police. Bernice Hahn, who is employed in that bakery, made a partial identification of them at a showup in the Maxwell street, station late Saturday afternoon. The boys, facing Miss Hahn, readily admitted they had held up that bakery and that Miss Rahn was there at the time.Four other complaints, charging robbery, were signed against the three hoys.Poor Environment.Wachowski said the boys began their careers in crime about four months ago. They had nothing to do, were not employed and their environment was not exactly uplifting, he said.Hay Halverson, the youngest of the trio, said that the Schmitt robbery was his first But the other youths claimed he had accompanied them on several, hut not all, of their jobs. They admitted, police said, about 30 burglaries, strong-arm robberies and holdups, but were rather i vague concerning dates and places.
Newspaper Details
Southtown Economist
Chicago, Illinois, US
Thu, Mar 07, 1935
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Joe C.
USA 01 Jan 2025
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